Gateau

Food writer Crapanzano sprinkles this compendium of cakes with anecdotes of Parisian life, speaking to the French savoir faire that continues to enamor Americans. . . . The prose goes down like a cup of Earl Grey alongside a slice of flourless chocolate and red wine cake. . . . Gateau will undoubtedly find favor with Francophiles and fans of French patisserie looking for new inspiration. --Booklist Demystifies the art of French baking with a collection of recipes for deceptively simple Parisian cakes that, with just a handful of ingredients, can be whipped up and served on a whim. --Publishers Weekly A work of art . . . such a beautiful book. --Eat Your Books If Aleksandra had set herself the task of making the world a little more chic, charming, and delectable, she could not have done better than to give us this book. Everything about it--Aleksandra's delicious writing, the lyrical illustrations, and the recipes for cakes simple and seductive--conspires to bring joy. Gateau is enchanting. --Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking with Dorie You know that feeling when you walk into a patisserie and see cakes of every color and dimension and like a child you can't possibly make up your mind much less close your mouth from gasping? That's how I feel reading Aleksandra's lovely book. She opens my mind to French cakes that can be made in my kitchen and approaches baking with practicality but also whimsy and love. I want to make her Clafoutis with Raspberries, Yogurt Cake with Lemon Thyme, Baba au Rhum, and Quatre-Quarts, but can't decide which one to bake first. --Anne Byrn, author of The Cake Mix Doctor Gateau exhilaratingly demonstrates how simple and satisfying it is to make a great cake. The French have known this for centuries; Aleksandra Crapanzano's mission is to make sure Americans understand it, too. Using more than one hundred recipes to prove her point, Aleksandra shows us how easy it is to pull together a cake and put an exclamation point on any meal. After learning about a confection known as Le Weekend Cake, poring over a banana bread recipe that's made with coconut milk, lime zest and rum and hopscotching through six pages of variations on her three-step pound cake (blood orange, matcha, or rum raisin, anyone?), I am forever on Team Gateau! --Amanda Hesser, co-founder and CEO of Food 52 In her terrific new book, Aleksandra Crapanzano dispels the myth that making French cakes is daunting and best left to professionals. Her fabulous recipes will have you wooing your friends with a whole range of sweet delicacies from a simple and delicious Orange Blossom Honey Cake to a luxurious Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake to a festive Coconut and Yuzu Buche de Noel. Go get a copy right now! --Nancy Silverton, chef and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group While I confess I'm naturally a bit torn about the idea of France's cherished national cake secrets being revealed to the rest of the world, if anyone is going to do it, I'm delighted that it's Aleksandra Crapanzano. I can imagine no one else with the knowledge, the passion and the spirit for this authoritative and delicious covert operation! --Apollonia Poilane, co-owner of Poilane